Outdoor recreation and the predictive validity of environmental attitudes

The utility of the attitude concept in outdoor-recreation research rests up on its predictive validity, that is, an ability to predict subsequent behav ior (at either the general or specific level). This study examines the mode rating and mediating effects of participation in three types of outdoor rec reation activities (appreciative, consumptive and motorized) on environment al attitude-behavior correspondence A mediating effect occurs if participat ion accounts for the relation between attitude and behavior: A moderating e ffect occurs if the attitude-behavior relationship changes as a function of participation. Respondents (n = 1220) to a telephone interview of househol ds in the Southern Appalachian region of the Southeast United States were a sked about their participation in a selection of outdoor recreation activit ies and their environmental behaviors and were randomly assigned to one of five general environmental attitude scales. Results support a significant m ediating effect for appreciative outdoor activities only. No consistent mod erating effects were found. Findings are interpreted within the context of attitude accessibility, and implications for generating proenvironmental be haviors are provided.